How to Engage Gen Z in the Workplace with Tailored Internal Communications

“Why don’t they read our emails?”
“Didn’t we already announce that?”
“They didn’t show up for a meeting about them!”

If you’ve led a team with Gen Z employees, chances are these questions sound familiar. It’s not that Gen Z doesn’t care, it’s that your message didn’t land. What we’re witnessing isn’t disinterest, it’s a classic communication gap.

In fact, according to a Workforce Institute survey, more than three‑quarters of Gen Z employees feel ignored by their managers, signaling that traditional internal communications simply aren’t working. This disconnect stems less from a lack of willingness and more from outdated communication styles that miss the mark.

The Gen Z workforce brings fresh energy, creativity, and a clear set of values, but they don’t respond to traditional top-down communication like previous generations. For a generation raised on smartphones, storytelling, and instant feedback, engagement depends on relevance, speed, and authenticity. This blog breaks down how to tailor your internal communications to bridge the communication gap and genuinely engage Gen Z in the workplace, on their terms, in their language.

Let’s dive into the mindset of Gen Z and explore actionable strategies to communicate with this bold new generation.

Who Is Generation Z?

Born between 1996 and 2010, Generation Z is the first true digital-native workforce, and they’re rewriting the rules of employee communication. Despite being the most diverse generation, there are unique characteristics that set them apart:

• Mobile-first mindset: Gen Z employees expect updates to be instant, accessible, and mobile-optimized. Long-winded emails or desktop-only platforms feel outdated to them. If it doesn’t work on their phone, it likely won’t work at all.

• Socially connected: Gen Z thrives on collaboration, real-time reactions, and feeling part of a larger conversation for their mental health. Internal communication that encourages interaction such as likes, comments, polls help build a sense of community among them.

• Purpose-driven: They want to work for organizations that stand for something. From social justice to sustainability, Gen Z pays attention to whether internal messaging reflects meaningful causes and shared values and consider it critical for their career growth.

• Visual learners: Walls of text don’t land. Gen Z responds better to visuals, videos, GIFs, or infographics, anything that communicates quickly and clearly.

• Uniqueness-focused: They expect personalized communication based on their team, function, or location. Mass messages with no relevance to their role get ignored.

• Short attention spans: With an average attention span of just 8 seconds, Gen Z responds best to short, engaging, and dynamic content. They prefer messaging that’s short, sharp, and interactive like push notifications, one-liners, or 30-second videos.

• Socially conscious: This generation expects companies to take a stand. They expect virtues like diversity, inclusion, ethics, sustainability to show up in internal messaging, not just on external campaigns.

• Passionate and creative: Gen Z employees often have side hustles or creative passions outside of work. Communications that acknowledge or celebrate their individuality build stronger engagement.

• Real connections: Even as digital natives, Gen Z values authenticity. Transparent leadership messages, two-way feedback loops, and real conversations matter more than perfectly crafted announcements.

How to Tailor Internal Communications to Gen Z?

To truly close the communication gap and engage Generation Z in the workplace, companies need to shift from conventional strategies to dynamic, Gen Z-aligned approaches. Here’s how you can create an internal communications strategy for Gen Z employees.

1. Personalize Communication

Gen Z candidates expect internal communications to feel tailored, not transactional. This generation values individuality and seeks content that speaks directly to their role, location, and interests. Leveraging tools that allow segmentation, personalization, and adaptive content ensures the message feels intentional and not automated.

Going a step further, personalization can include language preferences, team-specific updates, or even timing-based delivery (for active vs. scroll-through hours). When employees feel like messages were made for them, engagement increases organically. In fact, personalization is directly tied to job satisfaction and employee engagement, particularly for the Generation Z workforce that craves relevance and recognition.

2. Move Beyond Email

For Gen Z, email feels outdated, formal, and easy to ignore. With most of their digital life happening in chats, stories, and short-form videos, static emails simply don’t match the pace or format they’re used to. Instead, embrace formats like video updates, memes, interactive stories, or even gamified content.

Consider delivering updates through an mobile-app notification or a TikTok-style update from leadership. A quick video from the CEO or a visual project summary from a team member is far more likely to resonate. The key is to make communication feel native to their content habits, and ditch the assumption that email is the “default” professional mode.

3. Increase Communication Frequency

One major disconnect between leadership and Gen Z employees is timing. Many organizations still operate on a legacy cadence with monthly town halls, quarterly newsletters, and the occasional HR bulletin. But for Gen Z, communication needs to be frequent, light-touch, and ongoing.

This doesn’t mean overwhelming them. It means micro-content: weekly team videos, project shoutouts, peer recognition, and fast feedback loops. These regular check-ins create a sense of momentum and belonging. They also reinforce transparency, which is crucial for building a supportive work environment Gen Z wants to be part of.

4. Encourage Bottom-Up Communication

Generation Z values voice and visibility. They don’t want to just receive communication; they want to participate in it. Encouraging bottom-up communication channels shows that feedback is not just welcomed, it’s expected. Your communication tool must include anonymous feedback, crowdsourced ideas boards, and platforms that allow employee-generated content.

This isn’t about optics. It’s about giving Gen Z employees a sense of ownership over the culture they’re helping shape. When they see their suggestions acted upon or their stories featured, it strengthens their connection to the company and improves mental well-being by reinforcing that their opinions matter.

5. Focus on Mobile-First Platforms

More than 90% of Gen Z use smartphones as their primary digital device. That means mobile accessibility isn’t a feature for them, it’s a baseline. Internal communication tools need to be responsive, easy to navigate, and optimized for on-the-go engagement.

This is especially crucial for deskless workers or hybrid teams. When information is mobile-first, it removes access barriers, reduces friction, and increases the chances of real-time engagement. Whether it’s push notifications, mobile polls, or short video updates, Gen Z employees will not tolerate platforms that feel clunky or desktop-reliant.

6. Create Short-Form Content

With Gen Z’s attention span, often cited as just 8 seconds, the takeaway is clear: brevity drives retention. Long paragraphs, dense updates, and static PDFs are likely to be ignored. Instead, opt for formats that are bite-sized, focused, and easy to consume.

This doesn’t mean compromising on value. It means refining the message. A clear headline, 30-second video, or a scannable graphic can say more in less time than a 400-word email. For this generation, good content is concise, relevant, and designed for constant connectivity.

7. Leverage Video Storytelling

Video is Gen Z’s preferred format for learning, consuming news, and staying connected. From YouTube to Instagram Reels, they’re conditioned to absorb information visually and fast. Replacing internal memos with authentic video messages, especially from leadership, creates transparency and trust.

Video also opens up the door for better emotional connection. A short clip celebrating a milestone, sharing a behind-the-scenes update, or explaining a company decision can humanize your brand internally. In a sea of digital noise, video storytelling is your best chance to truly engage Gen Z in the workplace.

8. Add Interactive Features

Gen Z doesn’t want to read passively. They want to react, respond, and influence. Adding interaction layers like polls, emoji reactions, small surveys and quizzes, or Q&A boxes within your internal comms turns a one-way message into a two-way exchange.

This interaction builds stickiness. It also provides valuable insight into employee sentiment, without needing lengthy formal surveys every time. Most importantly, it shows Gen Z talent that their input isn’t just collected, it’s welcomed and impactful. This sense of involvement directly contributes to engage and retain Gen Z.

Conclusion

The rise of Gen Z in the workplace is not a challenge, it’s a massive opportunity. But only if organizations are willing to shift gears. Bridging the communication gap with Gen Z employees means ditching generic updates for dynamic, personalized, mobile-first communication. It means listening as much as you speak, valuing creativity, and showing up with purpose and transparency. From short-form video and interactive features to frequent feedback and authentic storytelling, the way forward is clear: adapt your internal communication style to reflect Gen Z values.

Sociabble is built to match how Gen Z communicates. The platform offers personalized newsfeeds, mobile-first delivery, and video-based updates that feel intuitive and familiar. Interactive features like polls, reactions, and comment threads create space for real dialogue, not just one-way messaging. You can segment content by role, team, or language, so every message feels relevant. Real-time recognition, employee-generated content, and social storytelling all come together to drive stronger connection and engagement across your Gen Z workforce.

Book a free demo to see how Sociabble helps you bridge the communication gap and truly engage Gen Z in the workplace.